Daley to shut some city services for 6 days

Mayor Richard Daley said today he will shut down city services except for police and fire for three days during holiday weeks as he tries to cut spending.

City offices will be shuttered as employees take unpaid days off the day after Thanksgiving, on Christmas Eve and on New Year's Eve this year and next year.

If there is a big snowstorm, Daley said, City Hall would call workers back to the job.

"This is a very hard step to take but these are hard times," Daley said. "This is a good thing for the city, the taxpayers."

The six-day shutdown will save $20 million, according to the Daley administration. The mayor hopes to save another $42 million by eliminating vacancies and putting in other cost-saving efforts.

Daley said he would refrain from filling 1,350 vacancies on the 38,000-strong city payroll, accounting for $29 million of that total.

There will still be layoffs, although the mayor declined to say how many. Daley previously has estimated that the city would let go more than 1,000 workers.

Daley is trying to close a two-year, $469 million budget gap. His administration announced Friday that it would try to convince aldermen to raise taxes on downtown parking, ballgames and major concerts to raise more money.